Found
by Jake Nickleby
Summary: Norman thought he found something in the woods, but something found him instead.


Disclaimer: All characters, events, and material related to _ParaNorman_ are owned by Chris Butler and LAIKA. Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Warning: This story represents the characters of _ParaNorman _in a slightly alternate setting. Please reconsider reading this story if you are sensitive to this type of content.

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Found

Norman Babcock sighed deeply as he stared at the graffiti stained on his locker door. A different derogatory name than the last time, but the same intention was inflicted. If the other kids at school already thought of him as a freak, then he hated to think what would happen if they knew about his… _special abilities_…

The eleven-year-old boy turned the dial on his combination lock, allowing him access to the cabinet inside. Scrambling with his backpack, Norman emptied the contents onto an empty shelf. Loose paper sheets fluttered to the tiled floor underneath his feet. Without bothering to pick them up yet, Norman pulled out a spray bottle of cleaning solution and a dirty, old rag. Closing the locker door, he started scrubbing at the slur scrawled along the metal surface.

"Hey, Norman?" a voice called from behind. The boy turned around to see frizzy, red-haired Neil Downe from his English class, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "You know that peer-edit assignment we did in class today? You know, on the short stories we wrote?"

"Um… yeah…" Norman started slowly. Where was Neil going with this?

Neil bent down to help pick up one of the abandoned piece of papers, and handed back to the other boy. "Well, I read yours today It was good, I think."

"You… 'think'?" Norman questioned, a bit puzzled by the other boy's statement.

"Well, yeah, I mean…" Neil explained, ears and cheeks tinging pink. He inhaled heavily before admitting, "English isn't my best subject, but the parts I could follow were really fun!"

"Oh…" Norman responded, not used to receiving compliments.

"Congrats on getting an A!" the red-haired boy commended.

"What grade did you get on your story?" Norman asked, awkwardly trying to make conversation.

Neil sighed loudly. "I got a D…" Then, excitedly, Neil suggested, "Maybe you could tutor me!"

"Oh, I don't know, Neil…" Norman resounded apprehensively. "I've never done tutoring before… How come Salma isn't helping you out? Doesn't she do tutoring after school?"

"Salma is pretty booked with the Young Genius Association, Math Regionals, the Policy Debate Championship…" Neil listed on his hand. He shrugged. "I guess she _could_ squeeze me in her schedule somewhere, but she's kinda out of my price range."

This information confused Norman. "But aren't the two of you best friends?" Hearing that the smartest sixth grader at Blithe Hollow Middle School would expect payment for helping her companion study was surprising to him.

"Sure, we're friends!" Neil insisted. "_Best_ friends?" he shrugged.

"Oh… But why ask me? You don't know me that well. How can you trust me?"

"You've got to trust _somebody_…" Neil reasoned.

Norman took notice of the kitten decal that was imprinted on the other boy's luggage. "Why do you always carry that lunch box around?" he asked.

Neil glanced down at the bag he held. "Oh!" he explained. "My old one got busted when it got stuck on a fence. I got stuck on the fence, too, for almost an hour because I couldn't yell for help with my laryngitis. Then this cat climbed up and started meowing until my brother came out to get me down. My mom let me get this new lunch box to remember the cat by."

A head-rattling ring from the school bell interrupted the two boys' conversation.

"Well, if you change your mind, you think you could call me?" Neil asked, slipping him a piece of scrap paper with his phone number scribbled on it. Then, just as the taller boy turned around, he parted with, "See you later, Norman!"

Norman stuffed the piece of paper in the pocket of his red hoodie, sighing as he left the school. The afternoon sun beat down on the small town of Blithe Hollow. It wasn't unusual that Norman didn't feel like going home right away, so he decided to take his routine detour through the woods. It was a good way for him to get his mind off of certain things, to get away from the rest of the world, and most importantly… to allow him to be _himself_, even if it meant being alone to fulfill that.

"Aggie!" he called near the grandest tree in the woods. "Are you here today?" The boy received no answer, much to his disappointment. The ghost of Agatha Prenderghast had probably gone to visit her mother. He understood that even spirits needed to talk to other beings, but there was no one else he could openly talk to about his sixth sense. He couldn't trust anyone. Not anyone alive, at least.

You've got to trust _somebody_… Neil's words rung through his head.

A rustling behind the tree distracted his thoughts. For a split moment, Norman hoped that Aggie had returned. Peering behind the trunk, he scanned for a translucent body. Instead, he caught sight of a furry, black tail flicking by his feet. Something warm and fuzzy pressed against his legs, and it started to purr. "Hey…" Norman whispered to the creature, kneeling to get a better look. "What are you doing out here? Are you lost?"

Reaching out his hand, Norman heard the animal meow in the smallest voice he ever heard from a cat. He scratched the kitten's ears, only now noticing that there was no collar around the neck. "You're abandoned, aren't you?" The cat pawed at the boy's sleeve, and he scooped the feline into his arms. "You really trust me, don't you?"

Norman's blue eyes took note of the sky. "It'll get dark soon… It won't be safe out here for you." The kitten purred sounding in Norman's embrace. "You should come home with me until I can get you to a shelter."

By the time Norman reached his bedroom, the kitten had made himself at home by curling up onto the boy's pillow, though getting the case covered with dirt was the least of Norman's problems at the moment. What really troubled the sixth grader was about tutoring his classmate. He never thought of himself good at school subjects, much less teaching it to someone else. He supposed that his story was okay…

Norman punched the number on his cell phone's keypad from the slip of paper that Neil had given him. Taking a shaky breath, Norman held the receiver up to his ear, nervously listening to the dial tone. He didn't bother waiting for an acknowledgment once he heard the phone click. "Hey, Neil?" he greeted shyly. "I thought it over, and…" Norman breathed anxiously. "I'd like to help…"

"Great! Thanks, buddy!" Neil cheered. "I'll see you after school?"

"Yeah, sure…" Norman's voice faltered. "Hey, Neil?"

"Yeah?"

Norman bit his lip to keep it from trembling, then… he hung up the phone. The eleven-year-old slumped on his bed, shamefully burying his face in his arms. He was trying to let someone in, and he lost his nerve. As he stayed curled up on his bedspread, that familiar warmness pushing against his leg returned, and purring began again. Norman looked up, and let a small smile grace his lips.

"You've got to trust somebody…" Norman reminding himself. He picked up the kitten in his arms. This young cat seemed to trust him, and Neil did too, for that matter. Maybe it was time to trust someone in return. "C'mon," he told the feline, scratching the cat's favorite spot behind the ears. "Let's go for a walk…"

Norman stepped up to the beige-painted house he knew as the Downe household. Keeping a firm grip around the black-and-white kitten with his left arm, the boy used his free hand to tentatively knock on the front door. It opened slowly, revealing Neil's hazel eyes. "Norman?"

"Hey, Neil…" the younger boy responded. "Sorry I hung up on you earlier. I wanted to show you something to make up for it." He held the kitten up to Neil's freckled face.

Neil gasped excitedly. "Hey, there, little fella!" he cooed to the cat, scratching the white patch of fur underneath the chin.

"I found him in the woods," Norman explained. "He doesn't have a home. I thought maybe he could have one here…"

"I've always wanted a cat!" Neil exclaimed happily. Norman was taken back when his mood suddenly clouded over. "But I can't keep one," he confessed. "Mom's allergic…"

"I think it'd be okay with my mom if I keep it, as long as he's an outdoor cat… We can share ownership," Norman suggested.

"And I can visit him whenever?" Neil asked hopefully.

Norman nodded, a small smile surfacing on his lips. For the first time in his life, he felt like he could trust someone. Maybe someday soon he could tell Neil his secret… Norman might have found a kitten, but the kitten found him a friend.

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End of _Found_

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Author's Note: I just wanted to write some fluffy Neilman friendship for Valentine's Day. I really don't give them the attention that they deserve. This document has been saved since March of last year with no plot, just a title and a pairing. I figured I should write one.


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